Film studio merger: Paramount can probably take over Warner

epd | The TV and film company Paramount Skydance has reached an agreement with twelve US states that wanted to stop Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. This is reported by US media.

The deal worth around $110 billion (96 billion euros) is considered the largest merger in Hollywood history. The states had filed an antitrust lawsuit, arguing that competition would be hindered by the merger.

As the New York Times reported on Monday (local time), Paramount committed to additional investment in film production in the USA, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. At the same time, there are reports that the company wants to set up a commission to guarantee the editorial independence of the news channel CNN and the broadcast network CBS.

According to the business magazine Forbes, the agreement has also met with criticism. According to Variety, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong expressed disappointment that the deal does not force Paramount to give up CBS and CNN. A court must approve the agreement.

Control of Paramount lies with billionaire David Ellison, who is close to Donald Trump. Trump has frequently criticized CNN's reporting. At the weekend he excluded CNN reporters as well as reporters from MS NOW and the Politico platform from the White House because of alleged fake news.

In February, Paramount prevailed in the bidding war for Warner against the streaming service Netflix with an offer of around 110 billion US dollars. Trump critics see the deal as an attempt by the president to gain more influence over the media market.